The Wahabis do preach strict adherence to the Koran but it is a sect.
"Islamist" is a much broader term.
Think of a Muslim sect as a "denomination" in Christianity. In 16th Century Europe, you could have the Calvinists and the Lutherans and the Catholics, etc.
The term "Islamist" does not imply a particular sect. It only implies a "My way or we will kill you" mentality. The Islamist wants maximum killing power by advocating that the Government be run according to his own sect's law.
For the sake of argument, let's call all the 16th Century European religious zealots, be they Calvinist or Catholic, "Christians" ... although, by 21st Century standards, they were no such thing.
When the Government of Calvinist Geneva or the Spanish Inquisition burned somebody for not towing the religious law, they could both be called "Christianists" ..... "Believe in my version of Chritianity or be burned at the stake!"
As you see, many different sects or denominations can take that attitude. So, the term is not limited to one sect or denomination.
At this point, we have to differentiate between the religious fanatics with the swords and the guns and most everyday "Christians" and "Muslims".
Most "Catholics" in Spain did not want the Inquisition being the Big Brother that could fry you if you said the wrong thing to your neighbor, the snitch, after drinking too much. Most young people in the cities of Iran do not want the Mullah Police to be cramming the Koran down their throats.
The population, however, still considered themselves to be "Muslim" or "Catholic". They do not want religion to be crammed down their throat by Big Brother but they would be insulted if a foreigner burns the Bible or the Koran.
The Islamist rising is a relatively recent political phenomenon. In the days of Nasser, nationalism was the ideology of the day and Arab strongmen kept Islamists under a very tight leash, if not in prison.
So did the "Muslim" Shah of Iran.
Saddam Hussein was such a man. Saddam was a "MINO" ... a "Muslim in Name Only". He only paid lip-service to Islam when he needed to for political expediency. He even had a Koran printed up with ink that contained some of his own blood ... or so he claimed.
In the Muslim world there is now an ongoing war war between the Islamist nutjobs and most Muslims that do not want the Religious Police to cram the Koran down their throats. The Republic of Turkey has been waging that war since the 1920's when Attaturk took power.
We need to identify who the enemy is. As Christians, we would fight any Christian religious fanatic that tries to impose his interpretation of the Bible on us at the point of a gun. Be that as it may, we would defend the Bible.
So it is with most Muslims, including our Muslim allies that are fighting side by side with us against the Islamist nutjobs.
The bottom line is that, if an English church insulted all Catholics in order to lash out at Irish Republican Army terrorists, they would also be insulting you as a Cajun Catholic and they would be insulting me as a Cuban Catholic .... Right?
Even if you and I only go to Mass when one of our relatives has a funeral.
You assume much if you think I’m Catholic just because I happen to be of Cajun heritage. I’m not Catholic, never have been and the majority of my ancestors were Protestants. We aren’t in the 16th century where people were mostly illiterate and had no access to information like we do today. As has been pointed out time and again, Islam is not just a religion but a total system of governing. The goal of islam is to usher in Sharia law. If the moderates wish to change things they will have to do more than they are doing now.
I am not an islamic apologist at all. If the Wahhabi’s are funding the majority of the mosques HERE in the US then their ideology is what is being taught. That sect is islamist. As a woman, I will vehemently fight the creeping sharia that is happening here in this country today. Women have much more to lose in this battle than men.
One of the issues is the move of stifling free speech. If our fundamental right to free speech is trampled on then this country is no longer truly free. I may detest every word or action that someone does but as long as it’s legal then we should be making dang sure that their rights are not infringed upon.
Nip it in the bud or pay the consequences later.